Thomson Reuters, a global content and technology company, today announced the launch of Thomson Reuters Audit Intelligence. This suite of AI-powered data-driven audit solutions is designed to transform audit practices by reducing errors and enhancing confidence, while enabling auditors to realize efficiency gains.
The first tool to debut in the suite, named Audit Intelligence Analyze, employs AI and machine learning to simultaneously enhance both audit quality and efficiency. The solution focuses on high-risk areas by efficiently segmenting audit testing populations based on risk level and reducing the overall number of items to be tested. With advanced anomaly detection, Analyze integrates directly within existing workflows, identifying unusual items often overlooked by humans and automatically generating all necessary audit documentation.
Dave Wyle, general manager of Audit at Thomson Reuters, emphasized the importance of using technology to modernize audit practices to stay competitive. “Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to investing in and developing products that enable data-driven, AI-powered audits. We aim to provide these solutions swiftly to our customers, maximizing the benefits of AI in their audits, while supporting firms to implement solutions at a pace that works for their businesses,” he said. “Our new solution, Analyze, can cut sample sizes by half, saving valuable time for auditors and their clients. This makes audits more efficient and allows auditors to focus on higher-risk areas, improving overall audit quality.”
The Audit Intelligence suite will integrate CoCounsel, Thomson Reuters professional-grade GenAI assistant, from next year, as part of the company’s broader vision to provide a GenAI assistant to every professional it serves. Auditors will be able to leverage CoCounsel alongside Thomson Reuters Guided Assurance to automate the completion of audit program steps and checklists.
Future additions to the suite will include Audit Intelligence Test, which automates substantive testing and verification by dynamically tracing accounting transactions to banking activity and supporting documentation, and Audit Intelligence Plan, which merges full data populations with technology-driven analytics to empower auditors’ planning and risk assessment processes.
Key benefits of Thomson Reuters Audit Intelligence Analyze
- Increased efficiency: Automation of manual processes allows for smaller, risk-focused samples. This enables auditors to concentrate on high-risk areas, enhancing efficiency and reducing overall firm risk while improving audit quality. Time savings of 30 minutes to two hours are achieved in both client data provision and auditor sample selection and documentation.
- Enhanced accuracy: Automated analysis using AI and machine learning increases confidence in audit results, integrating seamlessly into existing audit processes without requiring new methodologies.
- Improved transparency: The solution is fully configurable, providing a clear and transparent process for selecting and understanding advanced risk identification techniques.
Available now as part of an early adopter program, Audit Intelligence Analyze is expected to debut in the United States in the fall of 2024, followed by the UK in 2025. The solution is integrated into both Thomson Reuters Cloud Audit Suite and directly into audit methodologies and workflows. It can also be used as a standalone by firms with their own methodologies.
AI-powered time savings
In the Thomson Reuters 2024 Future of Professionals report respondents predicted AI to free up four hours per week in the next year, rising to five hours per week for tax and audit professionals. These next-generation tools leverage AI to redefine audit workflows, enabling audit firms to conduct more accurate and efficient audits.
Indiana-based firm RBSK Partners PC was among the customers that took part in the Audit Intelligence beta program. “Our firm can definitely see how AI will increase our efficiency. When using Analyze, I would say time savings was probably the number one thing. Not only did we save 20-30 minutes just selecting the sample, but the sample size was cut in half, which reduced testing time, and client data gathering time, by half as well. And this is just for receivables,” said Austin Seale, CPA.
It starts with data
To deliver customers advanced data-driven audit capabilities as part of Audit Intelligence, Thomson Reuters is partnering with on-demand accounting data provider Validis. The partnership includes the integration of Validis’ data ingestion capabilities directly into the Audit Intelligence suite. Integrated into audit workflows, this enables customers to seamlessly ingest client data to automate audit steps from within the solution, including trial balance, general ledger and subledger detail import and coding, risk analysis to optimize sample selection, and testing of details.
Jeff Gramlich, managing director at Validis, said: “We're excited to collaborate with Thomson Reuters, a true market leader and innovator, to deliver audit-ready data through our cutting-edge ingestion capabilities. This partnership provides auditors with the data breadth and granularity crucial for effective AI-driven auditing. By integrating our technology into the Audit Intelligence suite, we're empowering auditors to conduct data-driven audits with enhanced efficiency and risk analysis, ultimately transforming the process to benefit both auditors and their clients.”